Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-03-17
CAUSE OF THE FOREST HILL DISAsrEk
Practical Engineer Makes Thorough Exam.
inatIon The Structure of Poor Material

a ffacttcAl Engineer MAKES AnOfOuGn Sxnm-
inAtion The Structure of Poor Material
The New York Engineering Netcs, having
thoroughly Investigated the cause OF the
Fores, Hill disaster on the Boston q Provi.
dence railroad, will publish the following in
regard to 1t in this weeks issue
"The cause of this dread full catastrophe has
been very obscure in the newspaper accounts,
the only certain thing having been that the
bridge was a sort of patchwork nondescript
which violated several Of the most important
and fundamental requirements OF good
bridge designing. We are now fortunately
able to shed far more light on what the pre-
else cause was than has heretofore appeared
or than is at all likely 10 appear from any
other source, even In the official in.
yestigation. from the fact that we
probably be the most important bit of evi.
dence in the investigation, viz. The two
original parts which in all human probability
were the first to break. These parts are in
the possession of Henry s. Prtchsrd, c. F.,
who Undertook to critically examine the
structure on behalf Of this journal, and who
went about 1t apparently little more syste.
matically than those who had preceded him.
In connection with further information
gathered for us within an hour or two
after the accident occurred by Mr..
Frederick Brooks, c. f., OF Boston, these
fragments may be said to be absolutely con.
elusive As 10 tn0 IoAl ultuculty, suc0 IL - lt1'
possible that there should have been more
detective parts IN the bridge II 1t was to
stand up at all. The parts which first broke
were the two hangers which carried the last
or most easterly pair OF floor beams OF the
nortberly or last built truss-the truss which
carried all the load. So far as can be judged
from outside appearances they are made OF
Tar from good iron to begin with, but In ad-
dition to that they are OF very bad design and
most imperfectly welded. In addition to
that again they are both OF them very
badly hswed by old and deeply rusted
breaks at the most strained section, there be-
| ing two distinct breaks OF this kind to each
| specimen. The first hanger has both breaks
across the weld, the first break being COM
plete, and the second break, an inch and an
| eighth above it, all but complete, the metal
merely hanging together by the outside skin.
This hanger Can never have done any work
| since its original and now ancient fracture,
| or it would have broken apart long since.
| The second hanger WAS check cd across hall
| OF its inside face covered by the supposed
weld) for about half OF its depth OF effective
section, and this was clearly where the frsc
| tuTe first began. 1t caused . secondary frac'
ture at second old break In the hook OF the
| welded end, which cut oil q somewhst large ]
proportion OF the effective strength OF the Iron.
| "AIl this il clearly shown in the engrav.
ings OF the bridge and its broken parts which
appear In this issue, and the general judg
that more shamefully bsdsPecimens OF bridge
design, metal and workmanship can hardly
| exist We regret to have to express 30 sweep
| ing condemnation OF the structure, but the
facts more than justify 1t, and it 10 but righl
that In an occurrence OF this kind the truth
should be pointed out and made clear with
out fear or favor 1t Ia appalling to think o.
i the tens OF thousands OF lives which have lit
orally hung by thread in passing over thii
bridge during the past eleven years"